A Daoist wearing the Heaven-and-Earth Eight Trigrams Daoist Robe, with white hair and a youthful face, gazed coldly at Lin Tian and the little beast.
Killing intent surged in the old Daoist's eyes.
Facing this Daoist stood-
a hundred-foot-tall Primordial Ninefold Nether Vine and a little beast the size of a millstone.
The vine and the beast looked utterly ferocious.
Clearly, the Nine Nether Vine and the little beast, both of whom had reached the Great Unity Golden Immortal Realm and gained sentience, had also come for this Golden-Strike Divine Wood.
When Lin Tian saw the Heaven-and-Earth Eight Trigrams Daoist Robe the man wore, he already had an inkling of his identity.
This man was undoubtedly closely connected to the innate mighty being, the Heaven-and-Earth Demon God.
It was even possible that this Daoist was one of the Heaven-and-Earth Demon God's avatars.
After all, this Daoist's cultivation was, at most, that of a peak supreme golden immortal.
That was still a far cry from the power of the Hunyuan Great Principle Realm, which the Primordial World's innate mighty beings generally possessed.
Seeing this avatar of the Heaven-and-Earth Ancestor appear in person,
Lin Tian neither provoked him nor made his own stance clear.
Instead, the Little Beast Emperor beside him roared incessantly. Bolts of lightning as thick as buckets coiled around the little beast, whose eyes had turned blood-red. Above those eyes, a millstone-like mark glimmered faintly.
"My purpose in traveling the Primordial World was to find this Golden-Strike Divine Wood. Considering your considerable cultivation, and how perilous the Primordial World is and how difficult it is to survive, leave at once. I shall not hold this against you."
The old Daoist demanded that Lin Tian relinquish the Golden-Strike Divine Wood the moment he opened his mouth, his manner utterly overbearing.
"Oh? This little beast has an exceptionally powerful bloodline. It is a rare exotic creature of the Primordial World. If nurtured properly, it will become a first-rate mount!"
The old Daoist looked at the little beast beside Lin Tian, and greed immediately showed in his eyes. He actually began coveting the Little Beast Emperor right in front of Lin Tian.
He held Lin Tian in such contempt because the aura of cultivation Lin Tian displayed was merely that of an early-stage great unity golden immortal, whereas this avatar of the old Daoist had already reached the level of a peak supreme golden immortal!
As an avatar of the Heaven-and-Earth Demon God, an innate mighty being, the old Daoist had the power and ability to look down upon the heroes of the Primordial World. He alone could constitute a power in his own right!
Precisely for that reason, he could scorn Lin Tian.
He paid no heed whatsoever to Lin Tian's abilities.
He even wanted to seize Lin Tian's fortuitous opportunity.
While coveting the little beast beside Lin Tian,
he also began to notice Lin Tian, whose entire body shone with a deep-blue luster.
The Heaven-and-Earth Ancestor gave another soft exclamation of surprise.
Then a smile spread across his gaunt, sinister face, and he burst into laughter:
"What a surprise! I originally thought this Golden-Strike Divine Wood was already one of the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, an exceedingly rare spiritual treasure! Who would have thought this sentient Nine Nether Vine possessed such heaven-reaching origins! If this vine becomes material for my artifact crafting, why should I worry that my great undertaking will not rise!"
Lin Tian calmly watched the Heaven-and-Earth Ancestor spout grandiose nonsense before him, showing off for all he was worth.
The little beast beside him, however, kept roaring in fury.
The beast traced a couple of circles with its paw in front of Lin Tian.
The Little Beast Emperor meant: Surround him front and back, and beat this fucking bastard to death!
But Lin Tian gave the Little Beast Emperor no orders.
The Heaven-and-Earth Daoist continued addressing Lin Tian:
"Innate Spirit Plant, you and the little beast both share a destined connection with me. Why not return with me to my Heaven-and-Earth Mountain and become my disciples? I shall grant you an immense blessing!"
Naturally, he had a fine scheme in mind.
The old Daoist intended to trick the little beast and the Nine Nether Vine, both of whom had reached the Great Unity Golden Immortal Realm, into returning with him to his cultivation grounds on Heaven-and-Earth Mountain.
Then he would erase the sentience of the Nine Nether Vine and the little beast.
He would use the Nine Nether Vine as material for artifact crafting.
And the little beast would become his mount.
Rumble!
The old Daoist's presence was immense. As he spoke, his words became law, carrying terrifying pressure. The consciousness of the laws of heaven and earth shifted with his words!
They immediately pinned Lin Tian down!
This was the suppression brought about by a difference in cultivation!
But the little beast, likewise a peak supreme golden immortal, was completely unaffected by the laws the old Daoist invoked through his words and continued roaring.
Yet even with the laws of heaven and earth following the old Daoist's words to suppress Lin Tian,
Lin Tian remained relaxed and calmly sent out a strand of Spirit Awareness:
"Are you done talking?"
The Heaven-and-Earth Daoist suddenly froze, then stammered, "I-I'm done. What of it?"
"Since you're done, you can die!"
In that instant, Lin Tian stopped wasting words on this old Daoist, who was merely an avatar of the Heaven-and-Earth Demon God.
Ten thousand Nine Nether Vines erupted from deep beneath the earth across an area spanning millions of miles!
They shot into the sky like lightning!
In an instant,
an Eight-Direction Cage Formation made of Nine Nether Vines
formed a killing array above the Golden-Strike Divine Wood!
At the same time,
the Nine Nether Vine's innate divine ability, [Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal],
compressed to its limit within this space spanning tens of thousands of miles, then erupted!
The old Daoist, who had assumed his cultivation firmly surpassed the little beast and Lin Tian by several stages, had never imagined that this seemingly harmless Nine Nether Vine would brazenly launch an attack on him.
In Lin Tian's mind, however, the old Daoist trapped within the Nine Nether Vine's divine ability, [Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal], was already a dead man.
At the same moment he unleashed the Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal,
the Little Beast Emperor's entire body flashed with blue-green lightning.
The beast had already plunged into the innate divine ability, the Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal!
The Little Beast Emperor's body was completely unaffected by the bone-piercing, freezing power that came from the Nine Nether Abyss.
On the contrary, having previously cultivated in the cave abode amid the precipitous mountains, the little beast was like a fish in water within this Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal formed from the Nine Nether Abyss!
The beast moved ten times faster than under ordinary conditions!
"Insolence! I am an avatar of the Heaven-and-Earth Ancestor! This Heaven-and-Earth Continent of the Primordial World falls under my jurisdiction. If you dare act outrageously toward me, do you know what consequences await you?!"
At that moment, the old Daoist declared his name.
But Lin Tian, who had long since known the old Daoist's origins, did not pause his attack in the slightest.
Instead, countless Nine Nether Vines reinforced and accelerated the innate divine ability, [Ten-Thousand-Mile Ice Seal], even more frantically, pinning the old Daoist above the Golden-Strike Divine Wood so firmly that he could not move at all.
At this point, the old Daoist could do nothing but desperately transmit his Spirit Awareness to threaten Lin Tian.
Just as the old Daoist sent out his Spirit Awareness to threaten Lin Tian,
the little beast, swift as lightning, had already charged right up to the Heaven-and-Earth Daoist's avatar.
A pink mark, shaped like a stone mill and radiating an utterly terrifying aura, suddenly appeared before the Little Beast Emperor!
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